Art a lifelong passion for Frost

November 27, 2010

By

Becky Polaski

Photo submitted â€“ Linda (Zurfluh) Frost owns her own graphic design company, Linda Frost Design, and also is a fine artist and photographer.

For the past 10 years, Linda (Zurfluh) Frost has been self-employed through her company, Linda Frost Design, performing all aspects of graphic design work, including branding and corporate identity, package design, magazine publications, print ads, Website design and photography, for a variety of companies.
In addition to her graphic design work, Frost is also a fine artist and photographer.
"My fine art has been part of numerous gallery and museum shows in many states overÂ the past several years. My art allows me to express my experiences, thoughts and emotions through images on paper. This wayÂ of articulating my feelings has always felt natural and familiar," Frost said.
A portfolio of Frost's design work can be viewed online at www.lindafrostdesign.com, while her fine art and photography can be found at www.lindafrost.com.
Born and raised in St. Marys, Frost is the daughter of Helen Zurfluh of St. Marys and the late Vernon Zurfluh of Ridgway.
"My mom, Helen, still resides in the same home on West Benedict Street across from the Benedictine convent," Frost noted.
Frost also has a younger sister, Suzanne, of Los Angeles, Calif.
Growing up in St. Marys, Frost attended St. Marys Parochial School and graduated from Elk County Christian High School as a member of the Class of 1988. In addition to focusing on her studies, Frost was also active in various aspects of the community.
"During my high school years, I worked part time at the St. Mary's Parish Office on Church Street. I also volunteered as a candy striper at Pinecrest Manor and had a paper route at the Elk Towers," Frost said.
Additionally, even at this young age, Frost was already highly interested in art.
"I was very active in the art field and most of my spare time was spent drawing and painting. As a primarily self-taught artist and animal lover, my artwork was inspired by the nature that surrounded me - drawings, pen and ink, paintings and murals of elk, frogs, possums, lizards and owls in their natural settings," Frost said.
Frost noted that Pete Winklbauer, her art teacher at Elk County Christian, had a large influence on her decision to attend art school and ultimately pursue a career in the fine art field.
"He is excellent at what he does and really pushed me to be a more focused artist, which in turn helped my self-confidence and ultimate growth as an artist," Frost said.
After graduating from Elk County Christian, Frost went on to attend Temple University's Tyler School of Art in Philadelphia, graduating in 1992 with a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree in Graphic Design. She indicated that her decision to apply to Tyler School of Art was also influenced by a fellow graduate of Elk County Christian.
"Another graduate of Tyler School of Art, Patrick Gnan, also of St. Marys, was influential in my decision to apply to Tyler," Frost said. "Although he was three years ahead of me at Elk County Christian, from afar, I always greatly admired him as an artist and his astonishing talent."
After earning her bachelor's degree, Frost remained in Philadelphia for one more year, working in King of Prussia at an advertising agency.
"I thoroughly enjoyed all of the wonderful things that a metropolitan city like Philadelphia had to offer, but a warmer climate and sunny skies is what I longed for," Frost said.
She moved to southern California in 1993 and found a job in San Diego. Frost worked in the graphic design field in various capacities for the next several years, and after spending a few years at an advertising agency she obtained a job in Los Angeles at Paramount Pictures.
"Harry Lang, also of St. Marys, was instrumental in connecting me with the creative director in the licensing department, and in doing so, helped me get my foot in the door at Paramount," Frost said.
Following her employment at Paramount, Frost continued to work in the media and entertainment industry as a graphic designer at a design firm that did work for Discovery, Paramount TV, NBC, MGM, Scholastic, CBS and Mattel.
Frost and her husband Alex currently reside in a historic district of town not far from downtown Los Angeles. The couple recently celebrated their 12th wedding anniversary.
Even though she now lives on the other side of the country, in some ways Frost is still close to home as her sister and brother-in-law live just two doors down the street.
Having the benefit of nicer weather in California has also led to Frost's development of a love of running.
"Although I was never athletic growing up, I spend many hours per week running, cycling and doing yoga. In fact, I just ran my first half marathon in Malibu, Calif. on Nov. 14 and my finishing time was two hours and 10 minutes," Frost said. "I have started training for another half marathon in Huntington Beach, Calif. in early February 2011 and will run the full 26.2-mile Los Angeles Marathon in late March 2011."
Frost and her husband currently share their home with three dogs and two cats, and Frost noted that her love of animals cannot be underestimated.
"Over the course of my adulthood, in addition to many other domesticated animals, I've had the joy of sharing my life with chinchillas, an iguana, a turtle, a rabbit and several species of chameleons," Frost said.
Despite her busy schedule, Frost and her husband try to visit St. Marys at least once a year.
"Alex grew up in Toronto, Canada, so he finds the rural setting of St. Marys very tranquil and the people very genuine and warm-hearted," Frost said. "We usually plan our visits in the spring or summer in order to enjoy all of the wonderful outdoor activities that northwestern Pennsylvania has to offer."